Can we talk about this now, Ted?

This post is penned by new 3BP contributor and new media grassroots extraordinaire, Henry Hill.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland recently said that "[we would] cross that bridge when we come to it” when questioned about how to manage Ohio's massive budget shortfall.

If he wont answer that, how about this. Where are all the jobs going?

When you see numbers tossed around like 229,000 Ohio jobs lost in the past twelve months, it doesn't really hit you. It's almost too big a number to really comprehend. What does hit you are the job losses in your town - the people losing work in your county.

Recently, in my home town of Circleville, a major chemical company decided to cut 130 jobs at their plant so that they can relocate to a new plant in another state.

What does that say to me? This ‘other’ state offers better incentives to encourage businesses to come there.

This is the same thing that has been happening across the entire state of Ohio over the past year. Futures are being lost and suffering is on the rise across the state. Not only are people losing their jobs, but communities are losing their pride. As jobs leave, the schools slip, and as the schools slip, our future slips.

While Ted Strickland refuses to answer questions about the budget shortfall, maybe he can answer questions about this - what is being done to make Ohio more competitive? What are you doing to bring work back to Ohio?

It really hits home as you have to look around your own town and see houses being foreclosed and your neighbors moving away from their friends and family in an attempt to find a job.

That huge 229,000 number never hit me. That 130 lost in Circleville did. It is time Ted Strickland answers the hard questions, and I think blaming Taft is getting a tad old.